Duty of Publisher

The journal follows the International Committee of Medical Journals (ICMJE) recommendations and the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPES) for Editors and Publisher’s best practice guidelines. We expect all parties involved in the journal publication, including editors, authors, and reviewers to follow these guidelines to their best endeavours.

Key points are below, and further information can be found in the Information for Authors/Author Guidelines.

Publication Decisions and Peer Review

Duty of Editors

Our editors and editors-in-Chief aim to meet the needs of readers and authors and act independently from the journal publisher without prejudice. They make editorial decisions based on the quality and suitability of the submitted work for the journal and not for any political or financial gain and without regard for an author’s race, sex, religious beliefs or sexual orientation. Submitted content undergoes double-blind peer-review from two experts before being considered for publication. Each individual journal’s Editor in chief is responsible for accepting content to be published in that journal.

We strongly suggest that all submissions have been approved by an appropriate body such as the Research Ethics Committee prior to publication.

Duty of Authors

Authors acknowledge that when they submit a manuscript it will be subject to peer review. They are obliged to respond promptly to an editor’s requests for additional information and to address reviewer comments in a timely manner, resubmitting their manuscript where necessary, in the required timeframes.

We strongly suggest that all submissions have been approved by an appropriate body, such as the Research Ethics Committee, prior to submission.

Duty of Reviewers

Peer reviewers are required to respond promptly to invitations and to review manuscripts in the timeframes set by the editor.

Confidentiality

Duty of Publisher and Editors

The publisher and editors treat all submissions as confidential documents. They do not disclose information regarding the author of a submitted manuscript during peer reviews, which is conducted double-blind. They will never share a submitted manuscript with a reviewer unless they have accepted the invitation to review.

Duty of Reviewers

All manuscripts submitted will be treated in peer review confidentially. No information on the author will be disclosed during peer review. Ideas expressed in submitted manuscripts are to be kept confidential by reviewers and will not be used elsewhere by the editor or reviewer without prior written consent from the author.

Misconduct and Ethical Malpractice

Duty of Publisher

The publisher takes reasonable steps to identify and prevent the publication of papers where misconduct has occurred. In no case shall we as the publisher encourage or knowingly allow such misconduct to take place. The publisher follows the COPES flowcharts when dealing with such instances.

We reserve the right to reverse the decision to accept a submission where we believe our editorial policies have been infringed. Papers suspected of ethical malpractice or misconduct will not be considered for publication. We reserve the right to inform the author’s co-authors and/or institution/regulatory body when such instances occur.

Duty of Editors

We take reasonable steps to identify and prevent the publication of papers where ethical concerns, misconduct, or malpractice has occurred. The editors will never encourage or knowingly allow misconduct or malpractice to take place to published or unpublished papers and follow the COPES flowcharts when dealing with such instances.

Duplication and Plagiarism

Duty of the Publisher and Editors

Plagiarism is not accepted and considered unethical publishing. Our journals use similarity checking software to detect unoriginal material and to avoid plagiarism and duplication. Where plagiarism or duplication is highlighted, the concerns will be raised with the author and the manuscript will be rejected.

It is unethical to submit a manuscript to more than one journal at a time. Where this occurs the concern will be raised with the author and the manuscript will be rejected. In certain circumstances, a secondary publication may be permitted under terms agreed between publishers. The primary reference must be cited in the secondary publication.

Duty of Authors

Authors should provide original work and should adequately reference and cite any works of others they have used for the purposes of review. Authors are not permitted to copy, reuse or paraphrase work from others without adequately citing.

Duty of Reviewers

Reviewers should notify the editor if they are aware of substantial similarity or duplication of content between the submitted manuscript and previously published works.

Research Data

Duty of Publisher and Editors

We do not permit the manipulation of research data through data falsification or data fabrication. Where data falsification or fabrication is suspected, the concerns will be raised with the author. We reserve the right to inform the author’s co-authors and/or institution/regulatory body when such instances occur.

Errors and Omissions

Duty of Publisher and Editors

We take strive to ensure the academic integrity of our journals and to ensure that all content is reproduced correctly. However, we cannot guarantee the accuracy, adequacy, or completeness of the information and cannot be held responsible for any errors or omissions, or for the results obtained from the use thereof. Occasionally circumstances may arise where an article is published that must later be retracted or removed. Any errors should be reported to the journal’s managing editor for investigation. We commit to retract, correct, and apologise for any inaccuracies or misleading statements with due prominence through errata and corrigenda. In all cases, our archives at the British Library and the Agency for the Legal Deposit Libraries retain all versions.

Duty of Authors

Authors have a duty to report perceived errors or omissions in their work to the publisher. An error that is reported and is the fault of the author will be published as a corrigendum as promptly as possible.

Complaints and Appeals

Duty of Publisher and Editors

Any complaints should be first directed in writing to the editorial office and managing editor of the journal. If the editorial office or managing editor is the subject of the complaint, please contact editor@verjournal.com. The publisher will aim to deal with any complaints or allegations of misconduct as appropriately and as swiftly as possible. If not resolved satisfactorily, any complaints can be passed to the overseeing body or ombudsmen where one exists. A complaint may be referred to COPE within 6 months if it cannot be resolved through the journal’s complaints procedure and only if it pertains to procedural complaints rather than editorial content.

Declarations: Conflict of Interest and Intellectual Property

A conflict of interest exists when an opinion may be influenced or biased by a secondary interest, such as financial gain. Conflicts of interest may occur from commercial or financial interests, such as research funding, consultancy services, serving on speakers’ bureaus, travel expenses, appearance fees, the receipt of share options, or direct employment by a commercial entity. they may also occur from personal relationships, beliefs or rivalries.

All authors, peer reviewers, and editors must declare any conflicts of interest pertaining to the article when submitting a manuscript. All sources of support for the work where a conflict exists will be published. Conversely, authors should state clearly where there are no conflicts of interest to declare. Peer reviewers are asked to make the same declarations.

Duty of Publisher

We make it clear in our publications where any conflicts of interest occur and inform readers when research has been funded. A disclosure statement appears on every manuscript published within the journal. The purpose of this statement is to provide readers of the manuscript with information about any author interests that could influence how readers receive and understand the work.

Duty of Editors

Editorial staff employed by or contracted to Vascular and Endovascular Review (VER), including editors-in-chief and guest editors, will not handle manuscripts where they have a potential conflict of interest. In such instances, an alternative member of the editorial staff or an alternative editorial board member will handle the manuscript.

Duty of Authors

The authors must complete the questions asked in our electronic submission system (https://verjournal.com/submissions/), which follows the ICMJE recommendations. These answers will be stored, and a disclosure statement will appear on every manuscript published within the journal based on the authors’ responses. The purpose of this statement is to provide readers of the manuscript with information about the authors’ interests that could influence how they receive and understand the work. For more information and to download a Form for Disclosure of Potential Conflicts of Interest, which can be submitted with a manuscript, please visit: www.icmje.org/conflicts-of-interest/

Acknowledgements: Author(s) should acknowledge substantive contributions to the article, including receipt of financial assistance, materials, and other resources.

Informed Consent: Authors should include a statement in the manuscript that informed consent was obtained if experimentation with human subjects was conducted. The privacy rights of human subjects must always be observed. For more information please see our privacy statement.

Human and Animal Rights: If the work involves the use of animal or human subjects, this should be clearly identified in the manuscript. The authors should ensure that the work described has been carried out in accordance with the World Medical Association (Declaration of Helsinki) Ethical Principals for research involving humans, or the EU Directive 2010/63/EU for animal experiments. Where human informed consent has been obtained, this must be included in a supporting statement.

Duty of Reviewers

Reviewers must declare any conflicts of interest before conducting a peer review of a manuscript. Reviewers should decline to review if a potential conflict of interest is present.